2020 Visions: The Futures of Canadian Education by Crawford Kilian (review)

HUMANITIES 303 present. The present in Ontario at the time of the writing of this book is represented through the supposed reformism of the New Democratic Party government of Bob Rae: they deplore 'contemporary radicalism.' One wonders how the governmental shift to the right has affected the perspective of our authors. They probably do not · feel that such a political pendulum swing as they recognize affects the general downward subversive drift. On the other hand, they themselves seem to endorse the academic conservatism of the more recent past and present. In the universities particularly they support the 'traditional academic division of labour,' as they oppose the attempt at 'interdisciplinary creativity' as well as the 'capping of tuition fees'; they ponder privatization. In the historical Canada ofwhichthey presenta snapshot in their penultimate chapter, theemphasis does not seem to be even Eurocentric in the broad sense, but specifically Christian with McGee's appeal to .INature and Revelation,' the Methodism ofRyerson, and the appeal ofWatson to the 'eternalprinciples of duty.' The cormection made with the philosophical tradition that Embedey and Newell adumbrate is not entirely convincing. The sometimes eloquent call of this book for 'spiritual reawakening' is probably timely, but the challenge may be too great for its authors. Its rather stodgy presentation ofthe classics needs to be developed further and clarified. A more positive view of the achievements of the present and the possibilities of the future, however towering the obstacles, some of them not identified here, remains to be achieved. (PETER MORGAN) Crawford Kilian. 2020 Visions: The Futures ofCanadian Education Arsenal Pulp Press. 221. $16.95 Crawford Kilian, a former school trustee and long-time education columnist for the Vancouver Province, has taught in British Columbia colleges since 1967. This book derives largely from his colunms, mixing criticism of present practice with ideas for irmovation to an audience of grumbling taxpayers. While generally supportive of present public school systems, Kilian offers challenges for change, but in a single, long chapter he roundly condenms Canadian post-secondary education. Kilian threads his reflections together by playing a 'cautious' against a I confident' vision. The cautious vision, following economic and political conservatism, affirms the importance of excellence and specialized expertise , but doesn't trust it. The confident vision sacrifices process and control for results at all costs, so lack of funding seriously undermines the potential of schools. Rejecting the narrow definitions ofboth camps, the author takes from both, teasing out a complex future for public education. Frequently imaginative proposals offer the reader insights into how new technology, demographic trends, and changing political attitudes may change schools 304 LEITERS IN CANADA 1995 of the next century. As information increases and the population ages, Kilian sees stressed taxpayers supporting a relatively small, multi-ethnic student body vying for resources with conservative seniors. In this scenario , although schools offer demonstrable economic benefits to everyone, politicians will continue to find schools more convenient as problems than as positive social constructs: I even a dying government can prolong its life by raising the alarm about ... greedy teachers, wasteful school boards, illiterate students.' In spite ofmeagre political support, in a healthy society, education must balancethree concerns: training teaches students how to do something, schooling teaches them content or facts, and education instils in them attitudes towards learning. Given Canada's multicultural development, schools must offer curricula for many different cultures, classes, and life-styles, not to isolate individuals but to affirm them, and to provide cultural access to all parts of the larger society. In a system based on standards rather than standardization, 'schools for chaos' must help students learn to be responsible, independent agents in a democratic nation, to gain access to information more than the information itself, and to learn quickly to meet the unpredictable in an environment that will soon offer hundred-dollar personal computer systems that a decade earlier cost hundreds of millions. These technical resources will challenge educators as never before, for when students at horne have virtually instant access to world-wide information, teachers may have to become independent entrepreneurs, teaching in Ivirtual schools' using e-mail and the Internet, linking students around the globe, or providing Louis Riel in moving, 3-D images...